Generally, for automatic spring binding of various types of bound products such as a note, a book, an album and so on, a punching device punches holes in coupling parts, and in the next process, a binding device performs binding operation by a wiring spring.
The coupling methods of a spring for binding purposes may be implemented by a one ring type inserting a spiral steel wire into one end and rotating it, and a twin type inserting loops, made by bending a steel wire to have a “C” shape, into each of holes in upward and downward directions to be interlocked with each other and then pressed and fixed.
Additionally, when bound products are stacked in one direction, since the diameter of the spring is larger than the thickness of a paper bundle portion consisted of covers and inserts, the spring portions may become increasingly higher and therefore there may be a problem that it is impossible to stack at some point.
For example, Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0418009 (registered on Jun. 7, 2006) teaches a printed matter loading robot as one example of an apparatus for increasing loading efficiency of products. The printed matter loading robot is an apparatus for evenly stacking or separately stacking in a zigzag manner printed matters by using a robot in a process of loading the cut out printed matters on the palette, and this can be used for stacking products having the same thickness.
Additionally, Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0057174 (registered on Mar. 4, 1991) teaches a brick rotation moving apparatus, and Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0377444 (registered on Mar. 8, 2005) teaches a reversing apparatus for preventing the warp of a cardboard sheet. These apparatuses rotate from a horizontal status to a vertical status or reversely rotate in an opposite direction in the process of moving products to a moving conveyer, and since the structure thereof changes the direction only during the process of moving the products, they are not suitable as an apparatus stacking bound products having different thicknesses.
Further, Korean Registered Utility Model No. 20-0334932 (registered on Dec. 1, 2003) teaches an apparatus for loading notebooks of a notebook packing machine. The apparatus for loading notebooks is an apparatus that an oil pressure cylinder pulls short once and long once an operation plate safely placing notebooks supplied from a moving belt and therefore the rotation degree of the operation plate is controlled, the notebook falling depending on the rotation degree of the operation plate contacts a guiding plate arranged at the lower portion and is placed on the stacking support plate, or the falling notebook contacts an obstacle protrusion and is rotated in 180° degree and then be placed on the stacking support plate so that the notebooks can be stacked in a zigzag manner, because the notebooks are stacked in a zigzag manner the operation time becomes shorter than a traditional manual working way and the productivity is improved because of increasing the volumes of the notebooks, but there is a problem that the product can be damaged by the impact caused by falling and colliding with the obstacle protrusion for 180° rotation and a transferring device for moving notebooks from the binding device to the stacking location is needed, and therefore the structure is complex, the operation process is complicated, and the installation cost and the management and maintenance costs are high.